


Our Own Universe

by khaleesivero



Category: The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Cute, Fluff, I'm back, M/M, Newt and Thomas share a dorm room, Newt thinks Thomas is his soulmate, Non-Canon Relationship, Or that's what JDash thinks, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romantic Soulmates, Roommates, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Uncertainty, University AU, khaleesivero
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-23 02:23:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13777671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khaleesivero/pseuds/khaleesivero
Summary: Newt goes to university and finds himself in a dorm room with a boy who has the same name as his soulmate. But is this really his Thomas? Cute, angsty, romantic and at some later point smutty college AU.





	Our Own Universe

Newt was beyond excited as he looked out of the window while his mother’s car passed the campus for the first time. His dream of studying English literature was finally coming true. The times when he had been the only book nerd in class, sneered upon by his fellow classmates, were over. Now he would be able to geek out about Shakespeare and Chaucer and Joyce and Wilde and nobody could stop him. He was positively jumping up and down in his seat.

“Excited, are you, honey?” his mother asked, smiling over at him. Even if they’d wanted to, they could have never denied being mother and son – their blond hair, hazel eyes, cute dimples and tall, slim frame were almost identical.

“How could you tell?” he answered, grinning back giddily. He was extremely grateful that his mother had taken the time to do a roadtrip with him and drive to the very north of Scotland, where he would be studying for the next few years. It would have been a nightmare to go by bus or train, what with all the luggage he had insisted on bringing, but everything had fit neatly into the trunk of their Ford.

His mother shook her head, still smiling – they’d had the “are you excited?” coversation a number of times over the last three days – and returned her gaze to the road. Newt momentarily stopped looking at the granite-coloured buildings they kept passing by, and his glance fell onto his left wrist. He was wearing a watch, which was normal enough, but beneath it, there was a tiny little mark. The mark announcing his soulmate’s name.

Marks like his were perfectly common – in fact, Newt had never met anybody without one. People were born with their soulmate’s name etched into their skin as if it were a perfect teeny tattoo. In that respect, Newt was absolutely average. The only thing that was somewhat exceptional about his mark was that the name on his wrist was a boy’s name, which none of his male friends had had back in school. Not wanting to be judged by it, Newt had taken to covering it up with his wristwatch, but he didn’t feel anxious about it – the fact that he liked boys had been obvious to him fairly soon, and his family and close friends had never acted as if he were different for having the word “Thomas” on his left wrist.

_Thomas._

Newt looked at the letters, feeling excited. He would meet so many new people at university – dozens, maybe hundreds. And maybe, just maybe, his Thomas would be one of them.

His mother found a parking spot not too far from the dorm, and they made their way to the reception. It was move-in weekend, and the lawn in front of the dorm buildings was just as busy as the huge dome that had been set up to house all matters organisational. They queued to receive his keys and, after finally obtaining them, proceeded to the car to grab the boxes, backpack and suitcases holding Newt’s stuff.

The building he was to live in henceforth was called Wallace Hall, which he thought was adorably and almost hilariously Scottish, and seemed somewhat rundown yet cosy. The room looked nicer than expected – wooden floor, blue curtains, white walls. It was furnished in a practical way - two decent-looking beds, two nightstands, two desks, two wardrobes, two bookshelves, a window facing the park seperating the dorms from the actual campus. The setup would have been symmetrical if it hadn’t been for the door on Newt’s side of the room, leading to the bathroom. Newt was once again grateful for his mother allowing him to live in one of the student homes that didn’t have shared toilets.

“This isn’t half bad, is it?” his mum said, nodding as she glanced into the bathroom. “Much better than in my time, let me tell you.”

“I gather you mean the 1930s?” Newt asked mock-seriously and in answer was almost hit by a towel that came flying out of the little bathroom.

Since the other fresher he would share the room with was yet to arrive, Newt simply chose the bed left of the door to drop his stuff on and followed his mum back downstairs. She was still murmuring about the Spartanic life she had led as a medical student in the 1990s.

“I really don’t know why you needed to bring so many books, Newton,” his mother gasped as they were making the trip to the second floor for the third time, carrying the last of his luggage upstairs (needless to say, the dorm didn’t have the luxury of an elevator).

Newt rolled his eyes playfully as he kicked the door open since his hands were occuppied (he would never have admitted that he was asking himself the same question, especially since he owned a Kindle holding a respectable number of books). “I’m a literature student, mum, I need my books!” He dropped the box onto the bed, sighing with relief.

His mother, however, didn’t seem to hear him. “Hello, I’m Mrs. Isaac,” she said for some reason. Newt was about to tell her that of course he knew that, and why the hell was she being a lunatic-

It was only then that he realised that the other boy had arrived.

Newt turned around and did a double take. His roommate was absolutely gorgeous. He had dark-brown hair that was not too short, and his dark eyes went perfectly with his tanned skin. As he rose to shake his mother’s hand, Newt saw that he was also tall, but more muscular than himself, as if he worked out on a regular basis.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, and if it hadn’t been spoiled by the tan he sported, those four words gave away the fact that he was American. “I’m Thomas.”

_Thomas._

This was – a weird coincidence. Sure, he had met plenty of Thomas-s in his life, but that he would now be sharing a room with one? A strange feeling blossomed in his stomach, and he was desperately trying to get his bearings.

Newt prayed that his mother wouldn’t turn around to give him an obvious glance, and apparently his prayers were heard, because for once in her life, she played it cool. “Good to meet you,” she simply said, giving Newt the time to get his act together. “But I guess I’m not the one you want to meet.”

She stepped out of the way, and Thomas’ gaze fell onto Newt. His eyes were quizzical, but not in an unfriendly way. He seemed keen to learn, intelligent. “Hi, roommate,” he said, smiling just a little bit.

“Hey.” Newt was proud of himself for not sounding half as anxious as he felt as he held out his hand. “I’m Newt.”

Thomas seemed confused, but shook his hand nonetheless. “Newt? That’s an… Unusual name.”

Newt turned around to his mother. “See, that’s what I’ve been telling you for eighteen years now!”

Mrs. Isaac held up her hands defiantly. “It was your father’s idea, honey, not mine, that’s what _I’ve_ been telling you for eighteen years!” She smiled at him in a loving manner. Thomas turned back to his two suitcases, which were his only luggage, to give them some privacy.

“I think I’d better get going. I’m sure you’ll want to find Minho, maybe get a pizza or something with him and your new roommate.” She looked at him, and now she was wiggling her eyebrows in an embarrassing manner.

Newt rolled his eyes but nodded. His best childhood friend Minho had also been accepted into the University of Aberdeen, but he was going to study Developmental Biology. Newt was certain that Minho would be the only bio nerd who desperately wanted to try out for Rugby. Minho was staying in one of the cheaper halls with more parties, which suited his outgoing personality just fine. He had also arrived earlier that day and sent Newt dozens of WhatsApps to get in touch when he arrived. The blond boy had yet to follow this demand.

“Sure thing, thanks so much for taking me, mum, it was a blast.” He hugged his mother, feeling a little nervous now. He’d never been away from home for longer than two weeks, and now he was going to be up here in the North of the UK for at least double without seeing her only to return to his dorm at the end of weekend visits – doing his own laundry, feeding himself, the whole deal. He felt strangely lost.

“You’ll have such a great time, time’ll fly by so fast, you won’t even notice,” she said, and Newt gave her credit for sounding absolutely sincere. “Call if you need anything. And still be in touch if you don’t.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek, standing on her toes. Then she released him, waving to Thomas. “Bye, Thomas, have a great term,” she said, approaching the door walking backwards. 

Thomas turned around again and smiled at her. Judging by how polite he was to his mum, Newt liked him already. “Take care, Mrs. Isaac,” he said before turning back to his open suitcase that was lying on his bed.

Newt smiled at his mum once more, and then she was gone, the door was closed, and he was alone with Thomas.

They were both silent for a bit. Newt sat on his bed, feeling uncomfortable, wishing he could also start to unpack, but then they would have been unpacking simultaneously in silence, and that would have been even worse. He quickly messaged Minho, giving him his room number, and then put his phone away, staring at Thomas’ back.

He managed to remain silent for almost a minute before he burst out: “I’m not really good at this, can we just be friends?”

Thomas turned around to stare at him in the confused manner he had already seen when he’d announced his name to his roommate. “What?”

Newt blushed a deep crimson. “I’m not great at meeting new people, I don’t know what to say and it’s awkward to just make smalltalk, so how about we just decide to be friends and that’s that? Because I can tell you’re a decent person by the way you treated my mum.”

Thomas seemed to consider that for a few seconds, then he smiled and sunk down onto his mattress. “Ok great, because I’m thousands of miles from home and I could really use a friend. Especially one who understands Scottish people because man, I don’t even know which language they’re speaking.” The brown-haired guy’s smile was small, yet sincere. Newt was relieved. His confession had worked out better than expected.

He grinned. “Sure, no problem.” He grabbed a pillow from one of the boxes, needing something to hold on to. Despite their resolution to become friends, he was still a little uneasy; what if Thomas didn’t like him, after all? “So, tell me – where are you from? What are you studying? Why Scotland?”

The brunet boy pulled a few t-shirts out of his suitcase and began to stack them fairly neatly. “I am doing Sports Science. I played football in high school, but I’m not into all that NFL stuff, so I didn’t even try out for a scholarship. I’m more interested in how the body works, the physiology of exercising, that kind of thing.” He grinned, almost as if he were embarrassed. “Normally I’d be afraid to share that kind of nerdiness with anyone, but seeing as you are doing literature, I guess there’ll be a fair amount of geeking out happening in this room.”

Newt’s cheeks pinkened lightly. “I suppose so, if I have any say in it.”

Thomas nodded his approval. He stayed quiet for a moment, then he added, as if he had forgotten before: “Oh yeah, and Scotland because it’s the university farthest away from home that accepted me where I’ll still be able to make myself understood, having sucked in French throughout my school career.”

The blond boy nodded. “And where is home?”

Thomas’ answering grin was almost flirty: “If I told you the state, would you even know where it is on the map?”

Newt raised a quizzical eyebrow. “That depends. Are you from Florida, California or any of the big cities?”

“Nope.”

“You’re right, then probably not.” They both laughed, and there was something about laughing together with this strange boy that made Newt feel like he didn’t have to hold on to his pillow that hard anymore.

Thomas’ investigating gaze fell onto the two boxes of books Newt had brought into their new home. “I’m not the biggest reader,” he admitted. “I’ve always been a bit restless. I listen to audiobooks, though, sometimes. And I enjoy good TV shows and movies.”

Newt smiled. “That’s okay.” He hadn’t expected to live with someone who had the exact same preferences as himself; on the contrary, he was glad that his roommate would be taking different courses. That way, they would actually be able to talk to each other about how their days were and what they were currently working on and not tell the other something he already knew. “I’d be happy to watch a TV show together if you’d like. I’m really bad at watching them, I just always think about how quicker I’d be just reading the book instead of watching a ten-episode TV adaption.”

Thomas nodded. “Sounds good, roommate quality time and all that.” He even smiled saying it, in a completely unironic way. Newt had to admit he was just a tiny bit smitten by this boy.

And his name was Thomas. Newt did his best trying not to think about it too hard. He didn’t even know yet if the boy opposite him had a soulmate mark or what it said, and it would have been rude to ask. A glance at his wrist told Newt that Thomas was also wearing a watch to hide his mark.

He would just have to wait and see.

At that moment, the door burst open, disrupting the two new roommates’ bonding moment. Newt looked up to see his friend Minho marching into the room, inspecting it closely. “Hey shank,” he said, as if his behaviour was completely normal, which, admittedly, for Minho, it kind of was. The buff kid glanced into the bathroom. “Your room’s nicer than mine,” he announced, seemingly undisturbed by that discovery. “But then again I don’t have to share it with a yankee. Hey dude,” he said, approaching Thomas, holding out his hand. Thomas looked as if he wasn’t sure whether to be offended, so he glanced over at Newt. The blond boy shook his head, smiling, as if to say “Sorry about that, my best friend is bonkers.”

Thomas shrugged, stood up and shook Minho’s hand. “Hey,” he said, apparently unsure about the degree of friendliness needed for this situation. “I take it your Newt’s friend?”

Minho nodded briskly. “Minho.” Then he let go of Thomas’ hand without asking his name and let himself fall onto the mattress next to Newt. “Lads, I’m already in love with uni life,” he declared, making himself comfortable. “There are girls getting drunk in my hall as we speak and it’s not even six yet.”

Newt shook his head and kicked Minho off the towels he’d started to unpack. Minho might have been a boasty and loud person, but he was also incredibly smart and loyal, and the blond boy couldn’t imagine a life without him. “You don’t want to shag any drunk girls during your first night at university. You’ll just spend the next years trying to avoid her – or, knowing you, them.” Minho was kind of a playboy, and Newt often frowned upon that behaviour, but since he didn’t succeed in getting the girls he wanted half of the time, Newt wasn’t too bothered about his romantic endeavours. Being his best friend, he knew that there, too, was a name on Minho’s wrist, and that the boy was just as eager to meet his one true love as anybody else – even though he was ready to take some detours.

Minho grinned. “Now, see, Newt, this is where you’re wrong, I absolutely want to be doing that for the next few years.” He finally let Newt wrestle the towels out from under him and glanced over at Thomas. “What do you say, cowboy? Do you want to go check out some drunk birds?”

The combination of a slight smile and a frown on Thomas’ face communicated that he, too, found Minho annoying yet strangely endearing. “Too jetlagged,” he answered, shaking his head. “I would be up for getting some dinner, though.” The brunet glanced over at Newt. “What do you say?”

Newt was thrilled at how Thomas asked his opinion even though they’d only met ten minutes ago. The blond boy shrugged. “I can live with not meeting people tonight who won’t even remember me tomorrow.” He didn’t say it, but he wasn’t much of a drinker. Being a doctor’s son could do that to you. “Also, I’d love to get some unpacking done. Dinner sounds good, though.” His mum had given him a crispy 20 pound note to get a nice dinner – maybe it’d be enough to get two pizzas and have a comfortable evening with Thomas.

Minho sighed. “You two are boring.” He got up to leave, but stopped in front of Thomas. “You any good at rugby?” he asked, eyeing the brunet’s sculpted arms.

Thomas shrugged. “I played football in school.”

Newt could hear the genuine excitement in Minho’s voice when he answered, “Cowboy, I think we’ll have a lot of fun together. I’m taking you to practice next week.” He waved at Newt. “Howdy,” he said, winking at his best friend, before leaving the room.

Thomas was still frowning at the door half a minute after Minho had left. “He’s weird, but in a good way,” he concluded, tearing his eyes away from the door and back towards Newt. “Have you known each other long?”

Newt had started to unpack his suitcase once more, and Thomas, reluctantly, followed his lead. “I reckon we were six or seven. I had crutches after a foot surgery. Some boys bullied me. He punched them in the face.” Newt smiled as Thomas laughed. “We’ve been friends ever since.”

Thomas chuckled, shaking out a jumper he had just taken out of his suitcase. “I can literally imagine that,” he said. “It’s great that you both got to come here.”

Newt turned, leaning against his wardrobe. “It’s not just the two of us, though,” he insisted, his heart beating nervously. “You’re part of the squad, now, too.”

Thomas released a breath it seemed he had been holding. “Thanks for saying that,” he answered lowly, nodding once. “Now,” he added, seemingly happier, “what are we going to do about dinner?”

…

In retrospect, Newt was glad he didn’t go out that night, but ordered pizza for the two of them and just stayed in talking to his new roommate. Thomas easy to talk to, and once he really started, he wouldn’t stop. He was enthusiastic about many things – sports, TV shows, fotography, medicine, music – and Newt loved the way his face would light up when he told him about these things. They discovered that they both liked a lot of the same musical artists and films, and soon they were swapping quotes from Simon Pegg movies and listening to classic rock songs. When the pizzas arrived, they decided to make “Designated Survivor” their roommate show (Newt mostly suggested it because it was an original script that didn’t have too many episodes yet) and sat with their legs crossed on Newt’s comforter, the laptop on the chair belonging to Thomas’ desk and acting as a makeshift table.

The show was exciting, however, Newt was easily distracted – mere visual input was seldom enough to capture his whole attention – and he caught himself glancing over at Thomas’ profile. He nose was not small, but very straight, reminding him of a Roman statue, and his lips were full and slightly pouty. Definitely kissable. Newt had always wanted to save his virginity for his soulmate, but he wasn’t enough of a monk to refuse kissing anybody throughout his teenage years, and he knew one thing – these lips would be fun to nibble at.

There was only one issue – if Newt had really been Thomas’ soulmate, would he not have already said something? Then again, he hadn’t said anything himself, either. Then again, how many Newts were there in the world? Certainly less than boys named Thomas. Was he overthinking this? Ugh, he should just stop, wait and see. There would be countless occasions to glance at his wrist – surely Thomas wouldn’t wear his watch 24/7. He would have to take it off when he slept or went into the shower.

The thought of Thomas in the shower made him shiver.

The brunet glanced over at him. “Are you cold?”

“A little,” Newt lied, thankful for the offered excuse, and drew his extra blanket over his feet before trying to focus on the TV show again. He really needed to be cautious not to lose his head around Thomas so easily. Otherwise this would be a complicated year.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you remember me - I was inspired by the release of the third film adaption and now I'm back with another AU, hope you like it :)  
> As always: I do not own the characters, I just love them dearly.  
> I'm also not a native speaker of English, so don't be too harsh on me ;)  
> Kudos and constructive feedback are life <3


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